Kansas City Royals

Jeff King was hunting pheasant just north of Pittsburgh in December when the call came. After several hours in the woods with former Pirates manager Jim Leyland, King returned home and found his wife, Laura, standing alone in the kitchen.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I feel good, thanks. How are you?" he said. "What's going on?"

"Well," she said after a long pause, "the Pirates just traded you to the Royals."

Cash-strapped Pittsburgh shipped King, a power-hitting first baseman who earned $2.5 million last season, and his best friend, shortstop Jay Bell, who made $4.5 million, to Kansas City for unproven third baseman Joe Randa and three young pitchers.

King, who loved playing in Pittsburgh so much that he didn't apply for free agency when he was eligible in 1995 and probably cost himself several million dollars as a result, thought Laura might be kidding. After all, the Pirates had selected him with the No. 1 choice in the '86 amateur draft and had spent a lot of time and money on him when he struggled at the start of his pro career. Things got so bad, in fact, that he almost walked away from the game. "I stunk in '86, '87 and '88," he says. "And to this day I'm not sure why I didn't quit. Sure glad I didn't, though."

An Indiana native who owns a 2,200-acre ranch in Montana, King left the kitchen and checked his answering machine. There were 17 messages. "That's when I knew she wasn't kidding and that I was going to Kansas City," he says. "When the exodus from Pittsburgh started, it was like the wheels were coming off. I know the Royals are also a small-market team, but at least I feel like they can get players and have a chance to compete."

Kansas City general manager Herk Robinson called the swap "unbelievable." Randa said it was a great deal—for the Royals. Says K.C. manager Bob Boone, "I was excited about the trade. It instantly made us a better club."

The Royals, who finished last in the American League Central in 1996 and who lost 26 of 40 one-run games, had a bad habit of stranding base runners. Not knowing where his next run was coming from forced Boone to manage the first inning as if it were the ninth.

With 30 homers and 111 RBIs last year (both career highs), King brings power to a team that hasn't had a 30-100 guy since Danny Tartabull in 1991. The hitter-friendly parks in the American League and the emphasis King placed on bat speed this spring under the tutelage of future Hall of Famer and current Royals vice president George Brett should increase his power numbers even more.